Rocker arm oil passage cleansing device for overhead valve engines



July 12, 1949.

H. s. STRONACH ETAL 2,475,860 ROCKER ARM OIL PASSAGE CLEANSING DEVICE FOR OVERHEAD VALVE ENGINES Filed Jan. 4, 1946 Patented July 12, 1949 ROCKER ARM OIL PASSAGE CLEANSING DE` VICE FOR OVERHEAD VALVE ENGINES Harry S. Stronach, Oak Park,.and Edward J. Emmons and James B.: Dusil, Berwyn, Ill.; Charles W. Johnson, executor of said Harry S. Stronach, deceased, assigner to said YEmmons and said Dusil Application January 4, 1946, Serial No'. 639,066

1 Claim.

Our invention relates to a device for use in cleaning oil conduits which have become clogged or plugged with dirt, solidified particles of oil, sludge", or the like, to such an extent that oil will not ow therethrough, and has particular reference to a device for use in cleaning the oil conduits commonly employed in the rocker arms of overhead valve internal combustion engines.

The primary object of our invention is the provision of a device which, by means of compressed air, can be utilized to blow foreign materials out of oil conducts in the rocker arms of overhead valve internal combustion engines easily and quickly with a minimum amo-unt of time and elort.

Another and further object of our invention isA the provision of a device for cleaning out the oil conduits in rocker arms which is so fashioned that it can be easily and quickly applied in position for operation and which when in position can be easily held against displacement so that only a `f few minutes time is required for cleaning the oil conduits, which heretofore has necessitated the complete tearing down of the overhead structure and the cleaning of the conduits by hand, requiring several hours of labor to accomplish a sat-f isfactory result.

Another and further object of our invention is the provision of an apparatus which is easy to produce, comparatively cheap to manufacture, and which can be attached to any suitable compressed air source now common and available in nearly all garages where repair work is performed and which renders the work of the mechanic in cleaning out these oil conduits a very easy and efficient task as compared with the methods heretofore followed.

These and other objects of lour invention will appear as the description proceeds and will be more fully understood by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view, partially in elevation and partially in section, of a portion of a motor showing our invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of a section of a motor showing the device as it is applied in use; and

Figure 3 is a detailed perspective view of the nozzle attached to the main valve body as used in our invention.

Referring now specically to the drawings, in which like characterreferences are used to designate like parts, a motor block I is shown having brackets II, II secured thereto within which a hollow rocker shaft I2 is mounted, the rocker shaft having ports I3 therein in spaced relation with each other, with rocker arms I4, which have bushings I5 therein, mounted upon the rocker shaftI2. These bushings have circumferentially extending oil grooves I6 therein on their inner periphery with other grooves I'l on the outer periphery, with ports I8 extending through the wall of the` portion I5, providing, means of communication between the oil grooves I6 and Il. The rocker arm I4, at one of its ends, engages a valve stem 'I9 with the usual spring 28 and bushing construction 2I being provided, while on the opposite side of the rocker arm a threaded member 22 is provided having a ball end 23 at its lower end operated bythe push rod 24 and having a cup member 25 on the end thereof within which the ball end 2 3 is seated, the push rod 24 leading to the usual cam shaft, by means of which the push rod is reciprocated in raising and lowering the rocker arm to periodically depress the valve located on the lower end of the valve stem, as shown in the drawing, in both the intake and exhaust operations of a motor. An oil passage 26 is pro- 1 vided which extends from the outer upper sur 'face of the rocker I4 in a diagonal direction to the oil passage I8 with a bisecting passag the oil groove I'I the purpose lof this passage being to allow oil Ato flow therethrough over the end of the arm I4 toward the valve stem I 9 to lubricate this valve stem in its bearing in the motor block. A second oil passage 2i provided which is diagonally extending through the rocker arm I4 in a direction opposite to the directicn ci the passage 26, this passage being drilled through the rocker I4 to intercept the opening thrcugh which the threaded member 22 extends e' 5.3 be* ing provided at right angles to the passage 21 with the metal surrounding the discharge entrance to the passages 28 being cut away to form a funnel-shaped entrance 29 to the passage 28.

In the normal oil supply system of overhead internal combustion engines, oil is pumped through the hollow rocker shaft I2, passes out through the ports I3, through the oil grooves It, through the ports I8, through the oil grooves I'I, and out through the passages 26 as heretofore described, and also through the passage 2l, vwhich being closed at its outer end by the threaded member 22, the oil is forced out through the pasage 2B into the cup 25 and drains downward over the push rod 24, thus lubricating the push rod bearings, the cams, and the like, during the normal operation of the engine.

In the operation of motors of this type, the oil passages 26 and 21 are very apt to become clogged with dirt, solidified particles of oil, sludge and the like, so that the lubrication of the various parts is interrupted. In order to clean these passages heretofore, it has become the practice to completely disassemble the structure heretofore described and clean the passages with` anI acid bath or to open these oilpassages by'inserting a nail, pick, or some other instrument into them to clean them out. This is a long, tedious, and laborious operation, as well as a costly oneand our invention has to do with a comparatively simple device by means of which these passages can be easily and quickly cleaned. Our invention comprisesa body member 38 having avalve button 3i on an end of a valve stem 32 which leads-to any suitable valve mechanism insidel the body 30' and which is secured to a pipe or hose 33 leading to any suitable source of compressed. air. In threaded engagement with the opposite end ofthe body member 38 is a threaded nipple 311"V having a wrench piece 35 thereon and a tubular member 36 projecting therefrom of hollow construction which is bent into a Ur format the free. end with a vertically extending. leg; 371v of the U form being provided and a transverse portion 38 with another upstanding portion. with the end of the tube member being bevelled at 40 which cooperates with the funnel-shaped: opening 29 at the discharge endof the oil passage 28. The U- shaped end portion is disposedat a slight angle to the vertical plane through. theD tube 36 in a direction away from the body 30; this arrangement providing for theeasy. and', quick insertion of the end of the tube inton the endV ofv the'A discharge passage 28;

In the operationof the device, which is best illustrated in Figure 2theoperator placesthe tube 38 against the side ofthe arm i4, and by slightly rotating the device in a clockwise. direction, can easily and quickly insert the bevelled end 48 into the bevelled discharge portion ofthe tube 28, and when inthis position the operator presses downward on the button 3I.which opens the valve in the casing and directs compressed air into the opening 28, 21 through the oil grooves, and out of the oil passage 26. thereby removing any foreign material which is lodged in these passages and quickly and effectively cleaning out these oil passages so they operate properly. This operation takes 15 or 20 minutes against the 3 to 4 hours time of a mechanic in tearing down, cleaning out, and assembling the various parts of the motor as herein described.

While we have shown certain preferred embodiments of our invention, these are to be understood as illustrative only as it is capable of variation to meet differing conditions and requirements, and we contemplate such modifications as come within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

We claim:

A device for cleaning oil passages comprising in combination a casing, a valve in said casing, a detachable tubular member secured to the said casing, having a stem portion and a U-shaped portion at the end thereof, the entire U-shaped portion being integrally formed with the stem and in a plane substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the stern the discharge end of the said U-shaped portion being slightly offset with respect to the plane of the said U-shaped portion-in a direction away fromY the said casing.

HARRY S. STRONACH. EDWARD J. EMMONS. JAMES B. DUSIL.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenties are oi record in the leV of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 242,112 Clark May 31, 1881 373,461 Kees Nov. 22, 1887 1,124,508 Overly Jan. 12, 1915 1,388,854 Dezendorf Aug. 30, 1921 11,477,239 Bryan Dec. 11, 1923 1,557,994 Dyson et al Oct. 2, 1925 1,563,707 Hohl Dec. 1, 1925 1,795,763 Cramer et al Mar. 10, 1931 1,949,658 Remseth et al Mar. 6, 1934 2,266,288 Thompson Dec. 16, 1941 2,284,805 Decker June 2, 1942 

